Freedom
by Summer Wonderland
Summary: Hawke gets forced into the Circle after years of raising Carver alone. What will happen when she meets another passionate mage who's trying to escape? Or when she witnesses the lesson on lyrium branding for the first time? AU. Anders/F!Hawke/Fenris *re-posted


**A/N:** I hope this idea hasn't been done already. I thought it'd be pretty fun and interesting. Not to mention, it's an excuse to write a love triangle. Har har har. This is my first DA fic, so please cut me a teensy bit of slack on this short first chapter!

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Chapter One - Interruption

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She spotted her name upon the page.

_Lady Hawke._

_A beautiful young woman, very 'down to earth.' A little shy, but kind hearted and inviting. Loves men with free spirits, and eagerly awaits her first time._

That was the description of her?

She couldn't necessarily disagree, since most of it was true... but she wasn't sure they should've have included the part about her being 'inviting...'

Or the virgin part, either.

She left the book alone, and picked up her bag from the floor.

"Like it or not, that's you, _Lady Hawke_."

Hawke was being spoken to by Viveka, the woman she'd first approached about working here. She was a short haired brunette, not very pretty, young or nice; but she'd gotten Hawke a job and a real place to stay, so she deserved some kind of respect at the very least.

"Your room will be on the ground floor. Once you get more 'popular', you'll move upstairs."

"My brother can stay with me?" Hawke asked, just to make sure. That was what they'd told her when she asked the first time.

The woman mummed an 'mhmm', and led her across the floor to her room. She opened the door, and stepped aside while Hawke walked in and observed the room.

It was so much better than the bare, cold shacks she'd been used to living in, and everything was so orderly that she couldn't believe she and her brother would be living here so easily.

"You'll be given a choice of costumes for your visits, and I'll show you where the bathing rooms are tomorrow morning."

"Alright."

Hawke set her bag down, and turned around to face Viveka. "I'll go get my brother and return, then."

"Don't be long," she called.

The two women parted, with Viveka to somewhere else within the Blooming Rose, and Hawke, out into the nightly streets of Hightown.

She walked to the market, holding her chilly sides, and searched the mostly empty market square for Carver. She spotted him at a weapons stall, accompanying a man and a merchant. She didn't like the company he kept and she'd made it very clear before, so she tried to gather him as quickly as she could.

"Carver, I've got the room. It's cold out here, so let's go."

Carver turned around briefly, and then he looked back to his associate. "I'll see you all later. It's my sister again."

The two men laughed for a moment, and exchanged a few words that she was sure weren't kind and definitely directed toward her. Carver then broke away from them.

"Alright. So where'd you find a place this time?"

"You'll see."

And while this place was better than any other place she'd found before, she was certain Carver would strangle her when they stepped within two feet of the establishment. She was very wary of what his reaction would be, but she had no choice but to accept whatever outburst he'd have.

She'd lead him to the square where the brothel was, and stopped.

Carver hadn't shown any signs of realization, or anger, so that was either good or bad. Good, because that meant he was probably in a good mood and wouldn't burst into flames, or bad, because there was a high chance of him just bursting into flames anyway. Hawke took a deep breath.

"Why've we stopped? Are we living in that fort of crates over there?"

He smiled, and Hawke humored him for a moment. "No, Carver. We have a room in the Blooming Rose."

Her heart dropped at her own words, and appropriately so. His face grew furious within seconds.

"Have you lost your mind?"

She closed her eyes. "It'll pay well, and we'll have somewhere nice to sleep-"

"I don't want somewhere _nice to sleep_ or to be_ paid well _ if it means my only living sister gets passed around Hightown like a pricey sex toy! Or worse- a cheap sex toy!"

"Carver, there is nothing else I can do for money. I'm an apostate. I can't go around doing mercenary work anymore... not after what happened the last time."

"But I can! You never thought to ask me for help, because you think I'm useless! I've been trying to get into this expedition into the deep roads for days now, and you go off and... and... _sell yourself_ before I can try to do anything!"

His fit of anger was turning into one of rage, and he grew louder with every word he spoke. Hawke wouldn't try to calm him down; she knew it was pointless. He was always so bitter towards her...

"I don't think you're useless, Carver."

"Yes, you do! You'd rather degrade yourself and become a whore than to let me take care of us!"

She fell silent, and looked to the ground. He continued to yell at her, so much so that she couldn't bear to listen to him any longer. His voice was stinging her ears, and she was sure he was waking everyone in Hightown nearby. Her heart pounded. She was afraid... afraid of what Carver would finally do, and who would come to calm him down.

"Carver, please quiet down. We don't want too much attention drawn to us-"

"Shut up! You're even the reason I have to quiet down! If we weren't always trying to cower away from your bloody templars, I could yell at you as much as I wanted! You've ruined everything for me... and everything for the family. You let Bethany try to defend mother on her own-"

Hawke brought her flat palm across his face. He _dared_ to blame her for what happened to Bethany? He dared to even _bring her up_ when he knew how close they'd been?

"You bitter and whiny bastard! Don't you dare speak of Bethany or anyone's _faults_ to me! If I'd had a choice of who'd _die_, who'd get every bone in their pathetic body _crushed_ or left behind to _rot_, it would have been yours!"

Carver had been holding his cheek furiously up until she'd finished. His anger subsided within seconds.

"...How could you..."

Tears began to form in Hawke's eyes, and the same was happening to Carver.

"Why would you say something like that to me?"

"Why would you say something like that to _me_," Hawke responded shakily.

She stated to sob in front of her brother. Carver started to sob in front of his sister. The two had ripped at each other so badly this time, that neither of them knew what to say to make things better. Hawke wasn't even sure she wanted to apologize... or to take anything she'd said back. And it hurt.

"Elle! Run, quickly!"

Hawke was still crying, and covered her mouth as her whimpering voice called out to Viveka. She was standing in the doorway to the Blooming Rose. "What...? Why?"

"A templar is coming out! Go-"

Elle's heart leapt as a disheveled man in templar armor pushed Viveka aside.

"Apostate. If you run, I will make this painful for you."

She was at a loss for words, and Carver suddenly hugged her. She hugged him back, and tightly. But it wasn't until she tried to break free, that she realized it wasn't a hug. He was holding her down.

"Carver, what are you doing!"

He didn't say anything. He only held her more tightly as she struggled, and it made her sob even more profusely.

"Let go! I only tried to help us both," she cried, worming hopelessly in his arms.

The templar had reached the two of them now, and after Carver released her, the templar grabbed her by the wrist and slid his fist into her stomach. Elle was now unconscious, and Carver let his tears swell in his eyes.

The templar swooped her up into his arms, and turned to Carver.

"I'm sorry that this incident will be the last memory you have of her. You can still write to her in the Circle... if your relationship is stable enough to handle it, that is."

Carver didn't nod... nor did he say anything at all. He just watched as his sister was carried away into the night.

And after she was finally gone, he let his swelling tears run free.

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**A/N:** Please leave a review, I'd really like to know if anyone is going to follow along or not. Especially the 'veterans'. xD See you soon!

_P.S._ I'm looking for a beta. A partner in crime. A left hand. Someone to correct lore mistakes if I make them, and to help me make sure I'm telling the story correctly. I'll probably ask things like "Did you just want to slap Anders right there?" And if you say no I'll try harder to make you want to slap him. That sorta thing. PM me if you're interested and willing to put up with millions of questions!


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